Martin O’Neill coy on Celtic future as ‘older gentleman’ remark sparks debate | OneFootball

Martin O’Neill has kept the door ajar on his Celtic future, insisting there is still a place in football for ‘older gentlemen’ – while admitting he genuinely doesn’t know what happens after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final…

The 74-year-old has guided Celtic through two interim spells this season – stepping in back in October 2025 after a significant period away from management – and he’ll aim to crown an extraordinary comeback with a league and cup double when the Hoops face Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden on Saturday, 23 May. It would be some way to go out. It would be an equally compelling reason to stay.

Speaking via BBC Scotland, O’Neill reflected with obvious pride on what this season has meant to him personally:

“The pleasing thing for me if I truly reflect on it, is there is still a place in this game for older gentlemen. Despite the tactics that are involved now in the game, I do believe someone with some sort of experience can still play a part in proceedings.”

He went further, acknowledging the self-doubt he carried into the role when Celtic came calling amid what had been, frankly, a bleak period for the club:

“When I first stepped in way back in October, that was my main concern. Not having managed for some time, there are different ways of playing the game. That was my concern, not about destroying anything I might have done 20-odd years ago but being too old to be in this game. That is certainly a great sense of pride for me now.”

On whether there will be any concrete talks with Celtic’s hierarchy about next season, O’Neill was characteristically measured. “I genuinely do not know,” he said, adding: “I would not have expected anyone to say anything to me anyway. The response would have been we have to get Saturday out of the way and we’ll see what develops from there.”

That’s honest, at least. And it maps onto what we already know – as reported on The Celtic Star, O’Neill has already been contributing to Celtic’s longer-term planning, even without clarity on his own job title going forward. Whether that continues in a formal managerial capacity, an advisory role, or not at all remains genuinely open.

The Askou link has gone cold – the Motherwell man is headed to Toulouse – and Robbie Keane at Ferencvaros continues to be mentioned as a realistic candidate. But with a major squad overhaul looming this summer, whoever takes this job on a permanent basis will need to hit the ground running. There’s no easing in.

The fan base is split, as it tends to be. Some want O’Neill involved upstairs, drawing on the relationship and authority he’s rebuilt with the dressing room. Others – fairly, it has to be said – argue that sentiment alone can’t shape a recruitment model that needs to be fit for the modern game. Callum McGregor has already made his own feelings known on the matter.

Saturday comes first. Everything else can wait 90 minutes. Come on the Hoops.